Race Against Time
by Cora1
Summary: general Lucas story, Stinger accident goes wrong, case of amnesia All Chapters done now, story is finished!
1. Default Chapter

"Well, kiddo," he started, falling back on calling Lucas by his nickname, "something's happening

A Race Against Time

Chapter 1

"Oh, looks like your coming around." The young nurse said smiling. "I think you will be okay." She closed his chart and walked away.

Lucas slowly opened his blue eyes and surveyed the small room, it was a white, sterile hospital room, and he didn't recognize any of it.

The young nurse came back in with a tray. She poured him a cup of ice water and helped him sip. His head pounded from the effort.

"Ugh, Where am I? What happened?" Lucas whispered.

The nurse forced a smile. "Well, you are at County General in Savannah, Georgia and as to what happened to you, we don't know. Jeff, a local cop, was walking the beach and found you. You must of hit you head pretty hard, but I need to ask you some questions just the norm, name? Age? Who to call?"

They seemed like simple questions but… Lucas didn't know the answers.

"I…uh…I don't know." His brow was wrinkled with effort.

The nurse's smile disappeared quickly. "Oh, that's okay I sure it will come back to you."

"But…but why can't I remember now?"

"Well it happens sometimes with this type of head injury.'

"What happened to me? My head?"

"We don't know, you came in with a serious concussion, a fractured ankle and a lot of bumps and bruises. We don't know how you sustained these injuries. We put your description out on local channels but nothing, you have been out for a couple days now." The nurse answered quietly. 

"What will happen to me?" Lucas was becoming increasingly agitated. 

"Whoa, calm down, shhh it's okay, we'll find you a place don't worry." She smiled reassuringly. He looked so young, he couldn't of been older than 16, what was his name, where were his parents? How come no one had come looking for him? He didn't seem as frightened as young people his age would usually be. He was so precious looking, almost angelic. Someone had to be looking for him. 

Lucas had fallen back asleep almost instantly, obviously the past few day had been hard on him. 

****

Lucas slept till the next afternoon. When he awoke an older woman was sitting next to his bed. She was sitting straight back, with her hair in a tight bun at the nape of her neck, she was clutching her handbag, as she stared out into space.

Lucas shifted slightly in bed, but it cause the lady to snap out of her reverie.

"Good afternoon." She spoke with a heavy southern accent.

"Do I know you?" Asked Lucas puzzled.

"Oh, no no," she said laughing, "I am Mrs. Jean Barclay, a foster parent, I guess you don't remember anything new?"

"Umm…no, why are you here?" 

"Well, since you don't remember who you are or who to contact, the hospital has appointed me guardianship, until you do remember who you are or who to contact. Is that okay with you?" She asked gently.

"Yeah, I guess, I guess I don't have much of a choice in the matter."

"Well, I can definitely tell you are not from the south, not with that accent!" She laughed. That got a smile and she smiled back. "If you ready, do you want to come home?"

****

Lucas stared at the small, but bright sunny room. It had yellow wallpaper with white flowers bordering it. The wood floors were scuffed and worn. On the right side of the room were bunk beds and a window. The left side of the room had a desk and a big chest of drawers. The room obviously had one occupant, their books were strewn on the desk, the trash was littered with drawings and the top bunk was unmade. 
    
    "Now, you will be staying with Baz, he is 16 and is an aspiring artist," Mrs. Barclay said laughing, "he is at school now, you can meet him later. There are 5 other foster kids here Kyle and Cole are 12 year-old twins, and quite the handful. Leslie is 14, she has bad asthma, but is very sweet, Bob is 8, and Austin, he's 3. So now there is 7 including you and Baz. You can meet them all tonight at dinner, along with Tom, my husband. But now why don't you take a nap, I'll wake you when dinner is ready." Jean Barclay noticed he was swaying and leaning heavily on his cane. He obliged quickly and lay down on the bed on top of the covers. He didn't notice when Jean laid a quilt over him and kissed his forehead.
"Welcome." She whispered and left.
    ****


	2. The Search Begins

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

__

SeaQuest

"YOU CALLED OFF THE SEARCH!!" Yelled Captain Bridger, "what are you thinking?" He screamed at the vid-link with Lawrence Wolenczak on it. 
    

"It's been_ four_ days!!" Answered Lawrence just as angry.

"It's only been _four _days." Kirsten said at the same time, they both glared at each other.

"You can end your search, if that is what you call, but we will keep ours going." Said Bridger indignantly. 

"Fine, it's your waste of time and money," he snarled, "I'll check in within a week." He said more softly, then ended the connection. 

"Okay, lets go over what we know." Bridger said while trying to keep his anger in check.

"Again?" Miguel asked.

"Yes, maybe we missed something." Bridger answered hopefully.

"Okay, so Lucas left in the Singer at 0900. He traveled north towards the north ridge, towards the coast as a practice run for the Stinger. Mr. Ortiz and Kreig you set up the obstacle course from him, correct?" Ford asked calmly.

"Yes, sir." Answered Ben.

"Did the obstacle course include any flying or firing of projectiles or any weaponry of any kind?" Ford asked.

"No, of course not, sir, it was all just floating rocks and animals, nothing dangerous." Ben retorted.

"I know Ben, its procedure to ask and something did hit the Stinger that much we know…" Ford was interrupted by the beeping of Bridger's PAL.

"Yes." Bridger asked.

"Sir, there is an incoming call from Admiral Noyce." Answered Ensign Chessik. 

"Patch him through to the ward room."

The senior officers looked surprised, they thought they would have to leave but Bridger made no suggestion, he was never the same whenever something happened to Lucas, which was to often to everyone's taste.

Admiral Noyce appeared seconds later on the vid-link. He surveyed the room. 

"Any luck, Nat…Captain?"

"No, no luck, what may I ask is the pleasure of your call?" Bridger asked.

"Well," Noyce said conspiratorially, "I could get into a lot of trouble for this, but… this disk shows what happened to the Stinger that day."

"Where did it come from and how come we haven't heard of it early, it could have saved time!" Bridger said angrily.

"Now that is confidential, no one is supposed to know this technology exists it is still in the experimental stages. All I can say it is from a global satellite and it shows the Stinger going down. Now I am sending it to you over a secure channel and as soon as you have it downloaded, I am destroying this copy, I suggest you do the same, when you finish with your copy. Now Nathan it is not pretty," Noyce said forgetting all formalities, "Good luck." With that he disappeared.

"Were getting it, sir," said O'Neill after a few moments of silence, "the download is complete."

"On screen." Nathan ordered.

O'Neill typed a few commands then a showing of U.S.O (United Space Organizations) flashed on screen. First the disk showed the whole Atlantic Ocean, small subs could be seen and big school of fish were also visible. 

"There is SeaQuest." Pointed out Ford. Then the disk zoomed in on the SeaQuest like it had heard Ford, a smaller sub was shown leaving. STINGER Lucas Wolenczak flashed across the screen along with a picture. 

"Wow, pretty sophisticated." Commented Westphalen.

The satellite showed the Stinger curving through the obstacle course with no problem. When it reached the last ridge, a small unidentified sub rose from the ocean floor, torpedoes were fired and the Stinger was violently thrown around. The escape pod soon jettisoned away. The Stinger sunk beneath a pile of rocks. The escape pod soared to the surface.

Then the satellite changed and started watching the whole ocean again.

"What happened?" Bridger demanded.

"The satellite must of thought there was nothing else to watch, so it zoomed out." Guessed O'Neill.

"It explains a lot though, why we didn't detect the other sub or why we can't find the Stinger…" Explained Ford.

"Wait, I think there is sound too, it has a little static to it though." Tim said as he pushed some more commands then static was heard.

After the static, Lucas could be heard talking to Ben, the conversation was mostly about the obstacle course and how Lucas could do it with his eyes closed. Then Ben was called away and Lucas said he was turning around to come back.

"That is where our communications end." Commented Ford more to himself then the rest of the room.

But it was not the end for the satellite. Within minutes Lucas was sending out a distress signal and frantically trying to raise anyone on the SeaQuest, a loud explosion sounded over his attempts. Lucas cried out. Kirsten visibly winced. Lucas repeated his coordinates and said he was going to the escape pod and then the transmission ended.

"Why didn't we get any of that?" Asked Bridger angrily.

"The other sub must have blocked our communications and his." Ford stated the obvious.

"But a global satellite could pick it up! And we couldn't! I want the coast searched and all local hospitals, everything!" Bridger snapped.

"Wait Captain there is more." O'Neill interrupted, "Once the satellite had zoomed out, it still monitored the communications on the subs below."

The transmission was filled with more static but the crew heard perfectly what was said.

The sub that had shot down the Stinger had contacted someone on shore.

"Sir, we fired at the Stinger but Wolenczak got away, he cannot be found, even by the SeaQuest!" A deep voice said.

"Well his people are probably looking for him and I suggest that you, Captain Triv, that you find him first!" Replied a voice.

"Yes, sir." Answered Triv and the transmission ended.

"You heard me people, search the shoreline! We now have a deadline, a race against time!" Ordered Bridger.

****


	3. Some Answers

"Well, kiddo," he started, falling back on calling Lucas by his nickname, "something's happening

Chapter 3

Goshen, Georgia

Baz and Lucas are walking down a dusty road with backpacks, Lucas is still using his cane.

"Wow, I can't believe you still can't remember your name!" Baz exclaimed.

"Thanks for the reminder." Lucas said sarcastically. Baz and him had come to comfortable terms, Lucas had learned to deal with Baz's frankness and Baz had learned to deal with Lucas's sarcasm. They actually complimented each other well, Lucas was book smart and Baz was much more artsy. They had become inseparable in the past week since they had met.

"Sorry, tell me why do we call you Luke again?" Baz replied, "I mean if you can't remember your name, where did Luke come from?"

"Well, the nurse at the hospital said I looked like her younger brother and his name was Luke, so she started calling me it and then Jean caught on and now everyone does. I guess I am stuck with it." Luke guessed.

"Do you like the name Luke, or would you want a cooler name, like Rambo or something?" Said Baz, hysterically laughing. 

"I guess it's okay, but sometimes it annoys me, I don't know why but hearing it stirs something, I can hear someone calling me Luke and then laughing and I get angry, weird huh?

"Were all weird Lukey, but you are certain weirder!" Baz said laughing and ducked when Luke's cane came flying at him, "okay, okay how are you doing in school, so far?'

"It's okay, its been easy all I had to do was observe and now I am picking classes I want, and I am taking a math aptitude test to see where I belong." Luke said grimacing.

School

"Welcome Luke, this is a first year math class, since the school technically placed you in 10th grade this test with show what level of math you should be in. It is an aptitude test, it gets harder with each question, do not worry about skipping or stopping it will show how far your math skills go. Take as much time as you need and you can use a calculator." Explained Mrs. Artz the teacher.
    
Lucas sat down staring at the papers, he could feel Mrs. Artz staring at him. All this looked familiar, so he started working. After the third page he realized he could use his calculator but he was enjoying his self so he left it alone. Luke didn't even notice as each page he finished the problems got harder, he just kept going clearly enjoying himself. 
    He finished the 100 problems in 45 minutes. Mrs. Artz looked up as he handed it to her.
    "Well, lets see how far you got." She smiled thinking he must have not got to far since he didn't take that much time. She was shocked to see he had done all the problems, all 100. When she pulled out the answer sheet, she was more surprised to see that they were all right and the calculations he had written out were way advanced. 
    
"Luke…I will have to talk to the principal about this."
    
"Did I do something wrong." He questioned.
    
"Of course not, it's just that you scored so high I don't even think we offer a math class here for you. I was thinking we could send you to the college or something, where did you learn to do math like this?" She asked astonished.
    
Lucas became very uncomfortable, "I don't know, I just know it." He stammered.
    
Mrs. Artz remembered his condition and quickly said, "yes, well, it is remarkable talent, you should be proud."
    
"Yes ma'am, could you please tell me where room 145 is, that is my next scheduled class."
    
Lucas left the class as fast as he could, he ran to the bathroom and cowered in to a stall. He was getting a major headache, he had had them before, they happened whenever his memory was triggered. He could see flashbacks, first it was M.I.T, then a diploma. Luke could see his self-looking into a mirror, he couldn't have been more than 13 and he looked so sad, what was depressing himself that much. Luke saw his arms all black and blue and he saw a woman walk up behind him and smile evilly. Then a hospital appeared and then a large submarine and a man was standing in front of him, this man was tan and he was standing next to a dolphin, smiling and waving to Luke to join them. 
    Luke opened his eyes, the headache was going away, he had to get to class if not they would call Jean and he didn't want to cause any trouble. 
****
    Savannah, Georgia
__A week later
    The young nurse who first treated Lucas is cooking in her kitchen. A black van, pulls up to her house, she is oblivious.
    ____
    
    Bridger, Westphalen, Kreig, and O'Neill are at County General Hospital in Savannah.
    "Hello, we are looking for a boy who might of come in here about a 2 weeks ago." Bridger asked, holding up a photo of Lucas and his U.E.O. I.D.
    
"Two weeks ago? Let me check the records, we are such a small hospital it shouldn't be that hard to find out…here we go an unidentified boy was brought in, he presented with a major concussion, a fractured ankle, some bumps and bruises, but that is it." The head nurse read.
    
Kirsten gasped. Bridger gave her a reassuring smile, in the past week he had been to 20 other hospitals in the area and had been asked to identify 2 bodies, neither thankfully had been Lucas. He was feeling worse and worse, the past two weeks had taken its toll on him. The crew could see it also, but he wasn't giving up. 
    
"Also the records showed signs of previous bruising and scarring, does he get into a lot of fights?" Asked the unassuming nurse.
    
    Kirsten and Bridger exchanged a look, "yes, he is quite active." Kirsten said forcing a smile.
    
    They all knew where those scars came from, it was obvious Lucas had been abused before he came aboard SeaQuest now they just needed proof, but they didn't want to explain it to this nurse.
    "Do you know where we can find him?" Bridger asked quietly.
    "Hmmm… it's not on the records, I think Mary Carv, took care of him, she is the best, but she has the day off, can you come back another time?"
    
    "Oh sure," said Ben sarcastically, "we are only missing a kid, but sure we will come back!"
    
     "Ben…ma'am please we need to find him now." Bridger commanded.
    The nurse looked again at the photo and at the I.D's before her and sighed, she then drew out a map for Ben to follow to Mary's house.
    "I would of thought his father would of picked him up by now, he left here 30 minutes ago with the directions." The nurse commented.
"What are you saying?" Asked Bridger dryly.
    
    "A man came in with the same picture of Lucas and he said he was his father…"
The SeaQuest crew raced out to the van outside.
    ____
When they arrived at the house a black van was parked outside.
    
    "We'd better hurry." Stated Bridger.
The crew proceeded cautiously to the house. Ben had already taken out the driver of the van.
    
    The front door was ajar, Bridger stepped in with his gun raised. Slowly they searched the house, then there was a scream from the upstairs. Ben and Tim raced up, Mary was in a corner trying to back away from a tall man in black.
"Tell me where the boy is…" Hissed the man.
    
    "No, even if I did know where he was I wouldn't tell you!" She yelled back.
"Wrong answer." He raised his gun to shoot.
    "No, you have the wrong answer." Said Ben before he stunned the man.
Kirsten ran over to Mary and held her while she tried to stop her from hyperventilating.
    
An hour later, the crew and Mary were sitting in the living room with coffee, Kirsten had her arm around Mary's shoulder for reassurance.
    
"Lucas was so sweet, he wasn't afraid as many kids in his position would be. I think it was better he couldn't remember what happened to him, with all the bumps, bruises and old scars, it was obvious he was beaten when he was younger. I'm guessing it was family abuse, I've seen a lot of that." Mary sighed.
    
"Yes, we figure that he…" Kirsten started to say.
    
"Wait, what do you mean he couldn't remember what happened?" The Captain said obviously puzzled.
    
"What? The hospital didn't tell you?" Mary looked shocked now, "Lucas presented with amnesia and when he left he still had no recollection of who he was."
    
Bridger looked scared and shocked.
    
"That explains why he didn't try to get in contact with any of us." Ben said sounding relieved.


	4. Home?

"Well, kiddo," he started, falling back on calling Lucas by his nickname, "something's happening

    Chapter 4
School in Goshen, South Carolina
    
    "So Baz, what with the new kid?"
"Oh, hey Tara, I'm sure you have heard all the rumors, but his name is Luke and he's been here for 2 weeks." Baz answered.
    
    "You know I don't listen to the rumors and you live with him." Tara replied.
Ben looked at his best friend, then answered. "He's real nice, but quiet. When Jean first brought him home he slept all the time, she said it was from the concussion he had when they found him and that is also why he can't remember anything about his past."
    
    "Nothing at all?" Tara asked amazed.
"Well, he remembers how the world goes round and stuff but not the personal things. He remembers at night in his dreams, his nightmares but he doesn't say anything in the morning. The first full day he was with us the twins jumped out at him, he almost had a heart attack, he was shaking for hours. Jean really chewed them out for that. I don't think Luke is real comfortable around kids, he usually only talks to Tom, Jean and I, it seems like he's more comfortable with adults. He freaked out when Leslie had a small asthma attack. But it's been a couple weeks I think he's getting used to us." Baz finished. 
    
    "Well, when are you going to introduce us?" Asked Luke, he had limped up behind them without them even knowing it. Baz noticed Luke was quite good at sneaking up on people. 
"Oh, hey Luke, this is my friend Tara?" Baz introduced.
    
    "Pleased to meet you." Tara said politely.
Luke nodded. Just then the overhead speakers clicked on, "Luke Smith, please come to the principal's office."
    
    "Gee, Luke getting into trouble already, I, at least took a month!" Baz joked.
"Shut up, Baz, just tell me where the principals office is will ya and wait for me after school." Lucas said.
    
    "Yeah, yeah I'm not going anywhere and I want to hear all about this!"
Tara and Baz watched Luke limp off with his cane, after he had gotten his instructions to where he was going.
    
    "He's not that bad." Tara remarked
"No, no not at all." Baz replied then he put his arm around Tara and they walked to class. 
    ________
"So Luke, what was you crime?" Asked Baz as they walked home.
    
    "Oh, nothing the principal was just asking about where I learned my math skills…like I know!" Luke said laughing, "hey, how far is the ocean from here?"
"Oh, not far, why?" Baz asked.
    
    "It's just that I have an urge to see it." Luke looked at him squinting in the bright sun.
"Well my friend, Jim has a jeep and he lives right around the corner, we could walk but with your ankle…" 
    
    "Yeah, let's go ask Jim." Luke decided, his ankle was already aching from walking a short distance.
___
    
"Wow, he's really quiet." Jim said to Baz. 
Once they had reached the ocean, Luke had gotten out and sat on the sand and had not said a word since.
    
"He usually isn't, but this must bring back memories, lets give him some space." Baz said motioning to the jeep.
    
Luke stared at the endless ocean, it felt so good and familiar to be here, but he couldn't place why. Then a gray shape jumped from the water, flipped and dove back in. Luke scrambled to his feet as fast as his ankle would allow him. He vaguely heard Baz run up to him and help him steady himself.
    
"What is it, Luke?" He asked breathless
    
"Did you see that?
    
    "What?" Baz looked wildly around.
"A dol…dolphin just jumped." He stammered growing agitated again.
    
    "Yeah, there are a lot of dolphin pods around here, but it is a little early for them, so what is your point?" Baz asked confused.
"No, I know."
    
    "No what, your scaring me!"
"Darwin." Luke said puzzled to Baz.
    
    "Darwin, what's that?" Baz asked.
Luke flopped back down. "I don't know I'm crazy, it's just that…that dolphin looked so familiar." He said sadly.
    
"Who knows maybe you know him." Baz laughed until he sad Luke's sad expression. He quickly changed the subject. "Come on, Luke let's go home." With that he helped Luke back up and they started towards the jeep.
    
__    Home Luke thought _Home_
****


	5. Found?

"Well, kiddo," he started, falling back on calling Lucas by his nickname, "something's happening

Chapter 5
    
SeaQuest
    
Ever since leaving Mary's house in Savannah, Bridger could not get her words out of his head:
    
     "Yes, I found a foster family for him, the Barclays', Jean used to be a social worker but switched when she married. She has a great home, all her kids have graduated from high school and most have gone onto college or having fulfilling jobs and lives."
    Bridger knew something was wrong. "So when can we see him, where is he?"
Mary hesitated. "I don't know where Jean and Tom live…they moved 2 years ago, because of Jean's ex. Jean said she was only keeping the 6 kids she had then and no more, so she officially adopted them and disappeared. Every once in a while she comes and visits the hospital. She came the day Lucas woke up and when we asked her to help us, she said yes and since she was not going to adopt him she said she was going to call once a month to check on any progress in finding his family. She called 2 days ago."
    
    "So you are not going to hear from her for another month! This cannot wait, we have to find him!" Exclaimed Bridger.
    "I'm sorry, I still have the recording she sent, do you want to watch it?"
    Bridger nodded yes and watched as Jean Barclay appeared, she gave all the pleasantries and so on. Then she started talking about Luke, as she called him, and how he was in school and was very advanced in math. She talked about his injuries and how his ankle bothered him only when it was going to rain and on and on. At one point the rest of the family got home from school, they all said hello to Mary and last Lucas…Luke came on and said hello and thanked her. Bridger was so happy to see him he misted up. Last, Jean mentioned that Luke loved to visit the ocean and would sit there for hours. It definitely sounded like Lucas and maybe the ocean was helping to re-jog his memory, Bridger could only hope. 
___
    
Bridger shook his head free of the flashback, then continued his search of Barclays'. Obviously Barclays' were very popular in the south. Bridger had ordered the entire crew to search for Barclays' and high schools along the coastline, it had been a week and nothing had turned up, but Bridger was keeping his hope up. He hoped that if they couldn't find him neither could the people who caused this whole incident to happen. Hope it was all he had left. 
    
    Bridger laid his tired head on his hands and fell asleep, wishing for no nightmare to plague him like they did to Lucas.
"Captain, Captain, we have a hit?" Came O'Neill's overexcited voice over the comm.
    
    Bridger jerked up. "What is it, Lieutenant?"
    "We found a math teacher from Goshen High School, who is asking other schools for help with a new student. The new student has exceeded even advanced calculus, sounds like Lucas?" He read happily.
"Patch me through to Goshen High."
    
    "Yes sir!" Came O'Neill's reply.
    Within minutes a very nervous balding principal came on the screen.
"Ah, Captain what can I do for SeaQuest?" Asked the man nervously.
    
    "Do you know a Luke, a new foster child staying with the Barclays'?"
"Yes, yes I do." He said surprised.
    
    "I need the address to the Barclays' immediately."
"Why is SeaQuest interested in Luke Smith, he is a 10th grader?" Said the principal confused.
    
    "He's much more than that, please the address, or should I call Admiral Noyce?" Bridger said impatiently.
****


	6. The Barclay's

"Well, kiddo," he started, falling back on calling Lucas by his nickname, "something's happening

Chapter 6
__    2 days later
Bridger and Kirsten walked towards the Barclays' house.
    
    "Well, it certainly looks homey." Kirsten commented nervously. After tracking down the Barclays', the entire crew wanted to go get him, but Kirsten suggested that, that might overwhelm him. So they decided that the Captain and the Doc should check it out and they would give a full report when they returned. Everyone was still on pins and needles waiting.
Bridger gave Kirsten a supportive smile, then he took a deep breath and knocked. He couldn't believe he was this nervous, Lucas was his responsibility and he was like a son, so why was he so nervous to him again?
    
    Jean opened the door quickly, her eyes narrowed just as quickly.
"Can I help you?" She asked coldly.
    
    Bridger and Kirsten exchanged glanced before Kirsten cleared her throat.
"This is Captain Nathan Bridger and I am Doctor Kirsten Westphalen from SeaQuest. We are looking for Lucas Wolenczak or Luke Smith as you call him, may we come in?" 
    
"Of course, but I'm afraid Luke is at the beach with Baz, he spends a lot of time there." She replied snidely.
    
    Kirsten had the distinct impression Jean had not heard a word she said when she introduced herself and the captain, Jean was very mad for some reason. While she talked to her Kirsten noticed the captain drifting in and out looking at the rooms, Jean noticed this and kept shooting angry glares in his direction. Either he didn't notice or he ignored them, anyway he was getting irritated, he wanted to see Lucas now!
"Look ma'am, I don't know why you are so mad, but we need to speak to Lucas…Luke as soon as possible!" He said angrily.
    
    "What…well he will be home soon and as for my _attitude_… it's just that I hate these cases." She whispered quietly.
"What, you hate when kids get taken away?" Kirsten asked sympathizing completely.
    
    "No, I hate the kids that go back to a place that doesn't treat them right or _abuses_ them." Jean said lashing out, she couldn't keep it in anymore.
Bridger looked shocked. "What are talking about?" He exploded.
    
    But Kirsten knew she knew what Jean was referring too. "Jean, we did not do that to Lucas, it happened before he came on SeaQuest, his mother did it to him, not us. We know about the abuse, but have no proof, Lucas will not admit to it and keeps it buried. All we can do is teach him real love and keep him away from his mother and father. He has not seen them in 2 years now." Kirsten said quietly. "Captain Bridger is Lucas's guardian on SeaQuest and I am a friend."
Jean looked shocked. "I am so sorry, it's just that every night we are up together after his nightmares, I have pretty much guessed the whole story. He cries out for a Bridger, Ben, Kirsten, Darwin, and Tim to save him, but when he cries out for his mother or father…I have never heard so much terror in someone's voice. I am so sorry when you came I got so mad I thought you were his parents, I guess I missed the introductions, sorry."
    
    "No, its okay," Bridger softened. "I am glad Lucas found someone to trust to share his dreams, I have been trying for months." 
Jean smiled shyly. "I have grown quite attacked to him."
    
    "Yeah, he has a way of doing that." Bridger smiled back.
Just then the front door opened and in came Baz and Lucas laughing their heads off. Baz stopped once he saw the 2 people in the living room, but Lucas kept telling a joke and tripped over Baz with his cane. Then he noticed the two extras in the room.
    
    Baz knew they were here for Luke, so he excused himself and fled to his bedroom. Lucas stared at Bridger before whispering "_Bridger." _Then he sat down on the nearest chair.
Bridger's smile widened. "Yes Lucas, it's me." He started to cross over to sit with him when Lucas grabbed his head and winced. 
    
     Jean ran up and started whispering in soothing tones to Luke. She looked at Bridger and saw his pain reflecting in his eyes.
"He gets really bad headaches whenever memories are trying to resurface, sometimes they are real bad. Baz has found him a couple times in the school's bathroom with them. Shhh, Luke it's okay, oh this is a real bad one." She explained.
    
    Kirsten came back from the car, no one had noticed she left, she returned with her med.-kit.
"It's okay I have a sedative." She said half-asking Jean for permission. Jean nodded, she knew the headache was bad.
    
    Jean moved so Kirsten could administer the shot. Once she did, Lucas looked up at Bridger, he knew he recognized him, but it was so foggy.
Bridger knelt down to Lucas's level and placed his hand under Lucas's trembling chin and held it in place. Then he looked into Lucas's eyes and whispered, _"I love you, kiddo."_
    
    With that Lucas felt his memory explode and images started flashing by. He remembered the captain's kind touch and loving eyes. Lucas lunged out and wrapped Bridger in a tight hug, he started sobbing letting it all go. 
Bridger gladly returned the hug and held him until he felt the boy relax and drift off. Then he picked him up and took him to his room.
    
    Baz looked up as Bridger entered with Luke, he saw how carefully the captain was with Luke as he laid him on the bed and covered him with a blanket. Then the captain sat down and started to wait, he was not leaving until Lucas woke up. 
Finally he spoke. "How did he get the name Luke?" 
    
    "The nurse at the hospital gave it to him and it stuck, he liked it but he said it annoyed him sometimes." Baz said startled by the captain's sudden talkativeness. 
"Yes, well on SeaQuest, that's where he lives, you have to call him Lucas, if you don't he won't speak to you for hours, especially to his friend Ben, who always calls him Luke to get him riled up." Bridger said laughing.
    
    Bridger and Baz talked for hours about Lucas and Luke, it was bittersweet for both to hear how happy he was in both lives.
___
    
Once Lucas awoke he saw Bridger.
    
    "Captain…" He trailed off.
Bridger was ecstatic he had not introduced himself yes, Lucas could remember some things.
    
"What is going to happen now?" Lucas asked worried.
    
    "We don't want to rush you, so I rented a house down on the beach and I figure we can start form scratch and when your ready we can go home."
"Home" Lucas, said quietly.
    
    Bridger didn't answer Lucas still sounded confused, he didn't think Lucas knew where home was, but they would work on it.
___
    
Every day after school Lucas would catch a ride to Bridger's cottage on the beach, sometimes they would walk the beach or other times they would sit on the porch and use pictures or other visual aids to jog Lucas's memory. Soon Lucas remembered most of the crew and what his duties where aboard SeaQuest.
Within a week and a half Lucas declared to the delight of Bridger and to the great sadness of Jean that he was ready to return to SeaQuest. Lucas was completely ready but he could see prolonging the inevitable was hurting Jean and Baz as much as the Captain and the rest of the crew. Whenever Lucas left the Captain at night he looked forlorn to see him leave to go with someone else. So a day after Lucas told everyone, Kirsten brought a jeep to pick up him and the captain to return to SeaQuest. After long good-byes, the three piled in and sped off. 


	7. Bad luck to look back

"Well, kiddo," he started, falling back on calling Lucas by his nickname, "something's happening

    Chapter 7
Lucas was very quiet on the way back and he kept turning to look behind him.
    
    "You know Lucas, its bad luck to look back." Bridger lightly teased.
Lucas smiled tensely, "well I was just watching that van, they have been following us for quite some time."
    
    Bridger looked back and gasped it was the same van from Mary's. It had disappeared shortly after the crew had apprehended the other men in the house and not been seen since. 
    Bridger looked forward, a steady rainfall had started _'great this has to happen now,'_ he thought. 
"Kirsten call it in, then call SeaQuest, tell them were coming." Bridger ordered.
    
    After placing the call to the police, Kirsten started to dial SeaQuest, when they were hit hard from behind. Bridger tried to stay on the road but it was slippery from the fresh rainfall. He had almost regained control when they were hit again, Bridger's head flew forward and slammed against the wheel.
The jeep sailed off an embankment, hit the ground and rolled. After three rolls it stopped on its side next to a flooding river.
    
    "Nathan, Nathan wake up! Lucas, are you okay?" Kirsten called frantically.
There was a groan then an okay was heard from Lucas. He could see that Bridger was out and Bridger's left arm badly broken.
    
    "Kirsten, are you okay?" Lucas asked frightened. She was breathing heavily, she had been hit hard in the lungs.
"Not to bad," she gasped. "But my leg is stuck, I can't move."
    
    Just then they heard movement and Lucas saw two men in black coming down the embankment.
"Kirsten, play dead." Ordered Lucas, he reached up and grabbed Bridger's gun, Kirsten's eyes widened but she obeyed and lay back down.
    
    "We have to finish them off, I don't care if they look dead, we have to make sure. Then we'll push the jeep in the river. No evidence." A voice floated down.
Lucas tensed. A head appeared over Kirsten, Lucas didn't hesitate and pulled the trigger. The man slowly fell backwards. The other man cursed and got out his gun and aimed right at Bridger. Lucas panicked, he couldn't get a clear shot, not enough to cause enough damage to stop the shooter. So he lunged forward, Bridger grabbed the gun and fired out the window. The man shot wildly as he fell into the swollen river and in seconds he disappeared under the speeding currents. Lucas took a deep breath as he lay on Bridger's chest.
    
    "You okay, Kiddo?" Bridger asked softly. After Lucas's hesitant nod, Bridger explained they had to get out of the car so help could see them. First they freed Kirsten, she had not woken up since Lucas had told her to play dead. The captain was tiring quickly, so Lucas took him up near the road and then returned for Kirsten. 
When Lucas returned, he felt the car tilt towards the river and the smell of gasoline. He knew he had to hurry so he quickly lifted Kirsten and as he dragged her next to an unconscious Bridger the jeep exploded. Lucas felt himself being lifted, and then he fell, hitting his head on the side of the pavement. With all three of them unconscious none of them saw the jeep roll over one more time and disappear under the angry river. 
    
    Then silence.
The only sound was the steady rainfall.
    
    Silence.
All three figures lay motionless in the rain. Then came a sound in the distance. Sirens. The sirens got closer and closer and soon reached them.
    ___
    
Lucas woke with Mary smiling over him. 
    
    "Hey looks like he's going to be okay."
Lucas looked around at the hospital room it was the same room he had right after the Stinger went down. But this time Kirsten and Bridger were there.


	8. Epilogue

"Well, kiddo," he started, falling back on calling Lucas by his nickname, "something's happening

Epilogue
    
Lucas had just finished a call to Baz and Jean. He told them all about the car wreck, how Bridger broke his arm and Kirsten breaking her leg. He also had rehurt his ankle and received another major concussion. When he had woken up to Bridger and Kirsten everything was much clearer. SeaQuest also learned that the men chasing Lucas were a party from a Third World country, who were looking for a handout from the World Bank and they expected Lucas to hack in and help them with the handout. Lucas smiled, he was glad it had all happened and he couldn't wait for Jean and Baz to visit his family, his _home._
    
__ Lucas stood up to go back to his quarters when he wobbled, he had gotten up a little to fast, a side effect from two major head traumas. Ben appeared at his side.
    
    "Whoa, Luke," he laughed when he saw Lucas throw him a glare. "Hey, if they can call you that, why can't I?"
Lucas threw him another glare, then leaned on Ben as they walked back to his quarters, to his _home._


End file.
